DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Selvarajan (Pub. No.: 2021/0304620 A1) in view of Tieftrunk (Pub. No.: 2016/0057032 A1).
1) In regard to claim 1, Selvarajan discloses the claimed communication system (fig. 1: 100) comprising:
a processing circuit coupled to a memory having executable instructions stored thereon, where, in response to executing the instructions (fig. 1: 108 and ¶0023 discloses as a computer system for use by the pilot in a cockpit; hence, it is clear the computer system has a processing circuit coupled to a memory with instructions), the processing circuit is configured to:
generate a collaborative data on a first user interface of a first computing device within a cockpit of an aircraft for a pilot to view and interact with, the collaborative data including a plurality of digital layers that each display a different interface view to the pilot (¶0031 discloses generating synchronized maps for air and ground operations of an aircraft);
generate a digital assistant on a second user interface of a second computing device within the cockpit of the aircraft for the pilot to view and interact with (fig. 1: 110), the digital assistant to optimize missions of the aircraft on ground and in flight (¶0023 discloses a cockpit pilot may have an EFB 110 which has installed on it EFB applications 112 for use as a pilot information display and other applications, and ¶0026 discloses EFB may be used on the ground too);
manage communication of data between the collaborative data and a corresponding second collaborative data managed by a third computing device to synchronize data displayed on the collaborative data and the corresponding second collaborative data (fig. 1: 122/130 and ¶0025 discloses FMS 108 synchronizes data 122 with cloud service platform 114, and ¶0027 discloses a dispatcher 106 may have access to cloud service platform 114 through the dispatcher device 130); and
manage communication of data between the digital assistant and a corresponding second digital assistant managed by a fourth computing device to synchronize data displayed on the digital assistant and the corresponding second digital assistant (fig. 1: 104, 110 and 112 and ¶0026 discloses a pilot on the ground may access EFB applications 112 via EFB 110).
Selvarajan does not explicitly disclose a collaborative map.
However, Tieftrunk discloses it has been known for a communication system to have a collaborative map shared between two devices (¶0014).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the claimed invention was filed to allow the communication system of Selvarajan to have a collaborative map, as taught by Tieftrunk.
One skilled in the art would be motivated to modify Selvarajan as described above in order to improve the pilot's situational awareness with respect to the upcoming operation of the aircraft and the motivation or rationale underlying any modification(s) proposed by the ground personnel, as taught by Tieftrunk (¶0014).
2) In regard to claim 2 (dependent on claim 1), Selvarajan and Tieftrunk further disclose the communication system of claim 1, wherein the communication system is configured to receive data from a network of an airline associated with the aircraft, systems onboard the aircraft, or data suppliers associated with the airline and display the data on the collaborative map, the digital assistant, the corresponding second collaborative map, or the corresponding second digital assistant (Selvarajan ¶0029).
3) In regard to claim 3 (dependent on claim 2), Selvarajan and Tieftrunk further disclose the communication system of claim 2, wherein the data from the network of the airline includes data from an Operations Control Center (OCC) of the airline, including a takeoff time, a ground trajectory, and a flight path or flight trajectory of the aircraft (Selvarajan ¶0032), and wherein data captured by systems onboard the aircraft includes data captured by one or more sensors of the aircraft, data from an automatic dependent surveillance - broadcast (ADS-B) system onboard the aircraft (Tieftrunk ¶0033).
Selvarajan and Tieftrunk do not explicitly disclose an ADS-contracts (ADS-C) onboard the aircraft; and wherein data from data suppliers includes weather data from a weather server, airport data from airport servers, and Notice to Air Men (NOTAM) data.
However, official notice is taken by the examiner that both the concept and advantage is known for a communication system to have an ADS-contracts (ADS-C) onboard the aircraft; and wherein data from data suppliers includes weather data from a weather server, airport data from airport servers, and Notice to Air Men (NOTAM) data.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the claimed invention was filed to allow the communication system of Selvarajan to include and ADS-contracts and communicate with different servers.
One skilled in the art would be motivated to modify Selvarajan as described above in order to communicate with known servers in an aircraft communication system.
4) In regard to claim 4 (dependent on claim 1), Selvarajan and Tieftrunk further disclose the communication system of claim 1, wherein the collaborative map includes a clearance and flight plan manager configured to enter and display clearance messages from Air Traffic Control (ATC), and to send clearance requests from an aircraft to ATC, and to manage and edit flight plans for the aircraft (Selvarajan ¶0023 discloses the server is a flight plan management server, and ¶0032 discloses the FMS generates a flight plan).
5) In regard to claim 5 (dependent on claim 1), Selvarajan and Tieftrunk further disclose the communication system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of digital layers include one or more of: a visual display of the aircraft; a static aeronautical layer with airport ways, clearance points, and a digital terrain model; a dynamic aeronautical layer displaying dynamic aeronautical data including weather data, 3-dimensional maps, traffic in-flight and on ground a message layer for Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) data; a trajectory layer with aircraft trajectories in-flight and on-ground; a dialog layer displaying dialog windows depicting present communication data between the pilots, air traffic control (ATC), and the OCC of the airline; a layer displaying proposal data to manage communications between the pilots, ATC, and the OCC; a feedback layer displaying feedback data and information from the aircraft's pilots to the ATC and the OCC; a communication layer connected with the digital assistant, the communication layer to display optimizations, predictions, and monitoring of the digital assistant; and a performance layer depicting uses on ground servers and aircraft local servers to provide the collaborative map (Tieftrunk ¶0020).
6) In regard to claim 6 (dependent on claim 1), Selvarajan and Tieftrunk further disclose the communication system of claim 1, wherein the collaborative map is configured to provide tools to manage communication between the collaborative map and the corresponding second collaborative map managed by the third computing device, including the collaborative map being configured to: provide and maintain a secure communication channel between the collaborative map and the corresponding second collaborative map; generate interfaces to accelerate a clearance process with text-based enablers for the pilot to select; and generate interfaces to propose a new flight plan during an approach phase of the aircraft; and wherein the corresponding second collaborative map managed by the third computing device is configured to generate interfaces to accept the new flight plan data from the collaborative map (Selvarajan ¶0023 and ¶0035 discloses a flight management plan system).
7) In regard to claim 7 (dependent on claim 1), Selvarajan and Tieftrunk further disclose the communication system of claim 1, wherein the collaborative map is further configured to provide tools to manage communication between the collaborative map and the corresponding third collaborative map managed by the fourth computing device, including the collaborative map being configured to: provide and maintain a secure communication channel between the collaborative map and the corresponding third collaborative map; and generate an interface to receive a new flight plan from the corresponding third collaborative map and modify an existing one; and wherein the corresponding third collaborative map managed by the fourth computing device is configured to: send a new flight plan proposal to the collaborative map for an approach phase of the aircraft; and send a new flight plan proposal to the collaborative map for avoiding a weather hazard or contrail hazard (Selvarajan ¶0023 and ¶0035 discloses a flight management plan system).
8) In regard to claim 8 (dependent on claim 1), Selvarajan and Tieftrunk further disclose the communication system of claim 1, wherein the digital assistant is configured to compute flight predictions and provide outputs to the pilots to allow a continuous monitoring of tasks; and wherein the digital assistant is configured to optimize a flight plan or to optimize an on-ground taxi phase of the aircraft (Selvarajan ¶0023 disclose the EFB may be a computer device carried by a pilot or a flight crew, which may store, for example, navigational charts, maps for air and ground operations of an aircraft, a flight plan management system, an aircraft operating manual, flight-crew operating manual, software applications which automate flight-related or avionics-related computation tasks, and/or any application or data which may be installed in a general purpose computing platform).
9) In regard to claim 9 (dependent on claim 1), Selvarajan and Tieftrunk further disclose the communication system of claim 1, wherein the digital assistant is configured to make predictions regarding takeoff, taxi time, and flight time of the aircraft, based on flight plan, weather data, and NOTAM data (Selvarajan ¶0023 disclose the EFB may be a computer device carried by a pilot or a flight crew, which may store, for example, navigational charts, maps for air and ground operations of an aircraft, a flight plan management system, an aircraft operating manual, flight-crew operating manual, software applications which automate flight-related or avionics-related computation tasks, and/or any application or data which may be installed in a general purpose computing platform).
10) In regard to claim 10 (dependent on claim 1), Selvarajan and Tieftrunk further disclose the communication system of claim 1, wherein the digital assistant is configured to: create a flight plan route for the aircraft; create a digital folder with identification of NOTAM information and weather information relevant to the flight plan; extract weather and NOTAM information from the digital folder as well as documentation data; generate a performance forecast based on the weather and NOTAM information and the documentation data; predict a takeoff time, taxi time, and flight time based on the flight plan, the weather and NOTAM information, and the documentation data; predict a trajectory of the aircraft based on the extracted data and the predicted takeoff time, taxi time, and flight time; and modify the trajectory in real time depending on a weather event during the flight and other external events (Selvarajan ¶0023 disclose the EFB may be a computer device carried by a pilot or a flight crew, which may store, for example, navigational charts, maps for air and ground operations of an aircraft, a flight plan management system, an aircraft operating manual, flight-crew operating manual, software applications which automate flight-related or avionics-related computation tasks, and/or any application or data which may be installed in a general purpose computing platform).
11) In regard to claim 11 (dependent on claim 1), Selvarajan and Tieftrunk further disclose the communication system of claim 1, wherein the collaborative map is displayed on a first tablet within the cockpit of the aircraft and the digital assistant is displayed on a second tablet within the cockpit; wherein the first tablet and the second tablet are each in communication with an aircraft server onboard the aircraft, wherein the collaborative map and the digital assistant are implemented using the aircraft server, which is configured to exchanges data with the first tablet and the second tablet to display for the collaborative map and the digital assistant; and wherein the aircraft includes a database onboard, the database being in communication with the aircraft server, the aircraft server being configured to extract data from the database to make predictions and provide data to the collaborative map and the digital assistant (Selvarajan fig. 1 and ¶0026).
12) In regard to claim 12 (dependent on claim 1), Selvarajan and Tieftrunk further disclose the communication system of claim 11, wherein the corresponding second collaborative map is displayed on a first tablet on ground with air traffic control (ATC) and implemented by an ATC server, wherein the aircraft server and the ATC server are configured to communicate with each other to synchronize data with each other and communicate messages between the pilot and ATC operators; wherein the corresponding second digital assistant is maintained in a cloud server in communication with the aircraft server and is synchronized with the digital assistant onboard the aircraft; wherein a corresponding third collaborative map is displayed on a fourth tablet associated with an operations control center (OCC) of the airline, and is implemented using an OCC server; and wherein the aircraft server, ATC server, and OCC server communicate with each other over a wireless communications network to synchronize the collaborative map on the aircraft, the corresponding second collaborative map associated with the ATC, and the corresponding third collaborative map associated with the OCC (Selvarajan fig. 1 and ¶0023-¶0029).
13) In regard to claim 13 (dependent on claim 1), Selvarajan and Tieftrunk further disclose the communication system of claim 11, wherein the processing circuit is configured to generate a first digital layer of the plurality of digital layers of the collaborative map, the first digital layer including a first interface to receive a clearance indication from the corresponding second collaborative map and to display the received clearance indication; wherein the corresponding second collaborative map implemented by the ATC server associated with the ATC is configured to generate and send the clearance indication to the collaborative map for entering a runway or for initiating a taxi phase (Selvarajan fig. 1 and ¶0031).
14) In regard to claim 14 (dependent on claim 11), Selvarajan and Tieftrunk further disclose the communication system of claim 11, wherein the corresponding second collaborative map implemented by the ATC server is configured to determine that the aircraft is cleared for taxiing to a take-off runway; wherein the corresponding second collaborative map implemented by the ATC server is configured to generate a clearance message and to send the clearance message to the corresponding third collaborative map implemented by the OCC server; wherein the corresponding third collaborative map implemented by the OCC server is configured to receive the clearance message for the aircraft to be taxiing and to calculate and optimize an on-ground trajectory of the aircraft for taxiing to the runway based on airport data, including data on other aircraft and their departure times; wherein the corresponding third collaborative map implemented by the OCC server is configured to transmit the on-ground trajectory to the collaborative map implemented using the aircraft server onboard the aircraft and to the corresponding second collaborative map implemented by the ATC server for synchronization and further display; wherein the corresponding third collaborative map implemented by the OCC server is configured to transmit the on-ground trajectory to the corresponding second digital assistant maintained in the cloud server; wherein the corresponding second digital assistant is configured to compute a takeoff time, taxi time, and flight time based on the on-ground trajectory, airport data, aircraft data about the aircraft, and a flight plan of the aircraft; and wherein the corresponding second digital assistant is configured to send the takeoff time, taxi time, and flight time to the aircraft server for display on the digital assistant implemented by the aircraft server (Selvarajan fig. 1 and ¶0023-¶0029).
15) In regard to claim 15 (dependent on claim 11), Selvarajan and Tieftrunk further disclose the communication system of claim 11, wherein the processing circuit is configured to generate an interface for the digital assistant to receive obstacle information received from a sensor onboard the aircraft; wherein the digital assistant is configured to modify a flight plan or trajectory of the aircraft to avoid a detected obstacle and to send the modified flight plan or trajectory to the collaborative map; and wherein the digital assistant is configured to communicate the modified flight plan or trajectory of the aircraft to the corresponding second digital assistant; and wherein the collaborative map is configured to communicate the modified flight plan or trajectory of the aircraft to the corresponding second collaborative map or the corresponding third collaborative map (Selvarajan ¶0035).
16) In regard to claim 16, claim 16 is rejected and analyzed with respect to claim 1 and the references applied.
17) In regard to claim 17 (dependent on claim 16), claim 17 is rejected and analyzed with respect to claim 3 and the references applied.
18) In regard to claim 18 (dependent on claim 16), claim 18 is rejected and analyzed with respect to claim 4 and the references applied.
19) In regard to claim 19 (dependent on claim 18), claim 19 is rejected and analyzed with respect to claim 5 and the references applied.
20) In regard to claim 20, claim 20 is rejected and analyzed with respect to claim 1 and the references applied.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CURTIS J KING whose telephone number is (571)270-5160. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 6:00 - 2:00 EST.
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/CURTIS J KING/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2685
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